


Gratitude

by Lupanari



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Prompt fill, Gen, Letters, post im3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-27
Updated: 2013-08-27
Packaged: 2017-12-24 18:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/943460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lupanari/pseuds/Lupanari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AvengersKink prompt fill</p><p>With Killian dead, Pepper back to normal, and the shrapnel and Arc Reactor removed from his chest, Tony figured that would be the end of that particular mess. All that's left now is to put his life back together and move on.</p><p>He hadn't expected Pepper to come in with a box of letters. Or been prepared for what those letters would say.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gratitude

**Author's Note:**

> Fill for this prompt; http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/17385.html?thread=38560233
> 
> "Killian is dead, Tony Stark has been revealed to be alive and that's all Tony thinks about it at the time. Then he's told about the flood of mail that has been coming in ever since the news covered his return and he's surprised and touched at the number of letters that people have been sending him just to thank him for being alive."
> 
> Got a little more wordier than I was intending, but I'm happy with how it turned out. This is my first time actually writing something for the Avengers fandom, so if anyone notices anything that's a little too out of character or anything, please let me know.

It’s been a couple months since the events with Killian and Extremis. With the Malibu Mansion destroyed, Tony and Pepper had moved back to the repaired penthouse of Stark Tower (a tad reluctantly on Tony’s part, but so long as he didn’t look up at the sky, or certain streets, or landmarks, then he was perfectly fine. Really.) Shortly afterward, they had been gradually joined by the other Avengers, each arriving initially to either assure themselves that Tony had survived or to yell at him for being so reckless, choosing to stay a few days and just never leaving. And in the case of a certain DOCTOR Banner, provide a – reluctant – listening ear to Tony’s life story (“Really not that kind of doctor, Tony”). Which had made him feel better, even if the other man had fallen asleep partway through.

Tony currently sat in his Tower workshop, finally recovered from his surgery enough to start fixing DUM-E and U. Of course, had he been given a choice, he would have been down here weeks ago, but with people like Pepper, Rhodey, and later Bruce keeping a close eye on him with the help of JARVIS, he’d been forced to accept the prescribed weeks of bed rest and light work (“No, Tony. I know how you are when you’re in the workshop. That does not count as light work.”). So he had been forbidden from even stepping foot in his workshop until now, under the stipulation that Bruce be there to supervise (babysit) to make sure he didn’t overextend himself and provide the occasionally necessary arms and legs that JARVIS lacked for when the AI insisted it was time to eat or sleep.

But it has been far too long since the attack that destroyed his home, so no matter what anyone else said, Tony refused to stop until at least one of his bots were repaired and back online. He’d prefer to continue and finish the second immediately after, but the growing pain in his still healing chest wound would probably force him to stop whether he wanted to or not.

He hadn’t counted on Pepper suddenly showing up around mid-afternoon, carrying a large cardboard box, and a look on her face that, for all the years that Tony had known her, he couldn’t quite put a label to, and so he didn’t know how to respond to it.

“These are for you,” Pepper said, putting the box on an empty spot on a nearby table. Bruce looked up curiously from his lab space, while Tony stared at it warily. “Apparently they’ve been piling up for a while now. I think it’s about time you take a look at them.”

Wariness quickly got replaced by actual fear. “Pepper,” Tony started slowly, leaning away from the box, “please tell me that is not filled with piles of paperwork I need to fill out and sign. You know how bad I am at that kind of stuff. That’s one of the reasons I convinced you to keep the CEO position; you’re much better at it than I am.”

Her smile transformed into the much more familiar one of fond exasperation. “No, Tony, I pretty sure that none of that is paperwork,” she answered, to Tony’s relief. “They’re just letters.”

“Letters?” Tony and Bruce both asked, staring at the box, somewhat incredulously. The size of it prompted Tony to continue with “That entire box is full of letters?”

“A few small packages, as well,” Pepper nodded, her expression returning to the previous one that Tony still couldn’t name, though he was starting to recognise hints of that special kind of pride that Pepper only got for him, so it probably didn’t mean anything bad. “But yes, it’s mostly letters in there.”

Tony stared at the box for a moment. He was more curious now, but if they really were just letters... “Can they wait till later then?” He said, already turning back around to DUM-E’s new arm, picking up his screwdriver. “It’s just, I want to finish these repairs for Dummy first, and maybe get started on You afterwards, so –“

“Tony,” Pepper sighed, stopping him in his verbal tracks. “...I suppose these can wait until after, but you’ve been in here since early this morning, and it’s now past Four. Knowing you, you probably haven’t stopped for a proper break since.” Even with his back turned, Tony knew she was glancing at Bruce for confirmation.

“He barely even stopped for lunch, and only because I practically dragged him out. And then came back immediately after he’d finished,” Bruce answered Pepper, before directing his next words at Tony. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed you flinching and rubbing your chest periodically, especially in the past hour. You need a break, Tony, and 10 or 15 minutes to read a few letters won’t hurt any.”

Traitor.

Tony might’ve ignored them and continued working, despite the sharp glare Pepper now directed at him thanks to that traitorous Science-Bro of his (he was seriously considering taking away that title from the man, as he obviously didn’t deserve it if he was going to go around saying things like that around Pepper), if JARVIS hadn’t put in his own two cents.

“Sir, I’ve already taken the liberty of scanning the contents of the packages, and there doesn’t appear to be anything dangerous. If these letters are similar to the ones that Ms. Potts already opened earlier, then they might do you more good to read them sooner rather than later.” Then JARVIS’s voice took on that soft, understanding tone that many people would probably deny the AI even capable of, but Tony knew better. “DUM-E would understand, sir. He would much rather you remain well, than to have you injure yourself further while repairing him.”

Dammit. JARVIS just had to know the exact right words to say to him at times like this, didn’t he? How could he say ‘no’ to that?

“Fine, but only for 10 minutes, then I’m back to work! But you’re all bullies, every single one of you. Ganging up on me like this... Ought to report you to Cap, he knows how to deal with people like you,” Tony grumbled, putting his screwdriver down and rolling over to the table holding the box, choosing to remain in his chair.

“I think Steve would probably side with us on this one, actually,” Bruce said, coming around his own lab bench to stand next to Tony. “But go ahead and think otherwise if it makes you feel better.”

Tony refused to offer any kind of response to that, so he looked inside the box instead, seeing for himself that it was indeed filled nearly to the brim with letters, with a few tubes or smaller boxes peeking through here and there. Grabbing one that had already been opened by Pepper, he took the sheet of paper (lined, so apparently a hand-written letter) out of its envelope, and snapped it open with a flick of his wrist, thankful that it was a short one. If all of them were like this, then maybe going through this box wouldn’t take as long as he’d started to fear.

Then he stared in shock for several long seconds as the words of what he was reading actually registered.

_Dear Mr. Stark,_

_I’m so glad that you’re alive! I didn’t want to believe it when the news reported you died in that horrible attack on your home. I hope you, and Ms. Potts as well, are both alright after that._

_Thank you for all that you’ve done. You and the other Avengers saved all our lives during that attack on New York, and you’ve saved several more by defeating and capturing that terrorist._

_Sincerely and many thanks,_

_Annie Buchanon_

“Huh...” Bruce said, having read the letter over Tony’s shoulder. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. Letters like this have probably been coming in since the Battle.”

Tony didn’t say anything, still rather stunned, so he just set the letter aside and quickly reached in for another envelope.

_Dear Tony Stark/Iron Man,_

_Thank God! We were all stunned when the news showed that attack on your home, and that there was no sign of you. We kept a close eye on any kind of news after, hoping to hear more positive news, and when it finally came, we all breathed a great sigh of relief._

_But it made us realize something, so we would like to take the chance now to thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for your actions in New York, and your earlier ones as well that helped stop the war, guaranteeing my husband’s safe return home. Thank you._

_May God watch over and protect you always,_

_The Ashton Family_

The next letter had obviously been written by a young child, on white construction paper with an accompanying drawing of a heroically flying Iron Man.

_Iron MAn,_

_I am glaD thaT yoU arE OK. Your mY faVrit SupeR Hero_

_DaViD_

“Are they...” Tony started, coughing around sudden lump in his throat, a warm feeling bubbling up from the center of his chest, right behind where the arc reactor used to be. “Are they all like this?”

“I think they are, yeah,” Pepper answered. “Like Bruce said, a lot have probably been coming in for a while, but there have probably been a lot more for you specifically because of what happened in Malibu.”

“Right...”

Tony continued reading through the letters, with the help of Pepper and Bruce. Every single one he opened had some form of thanks, whether in general for New York or the Mandarin, or occasionally something more specific from people he’d saved personally (such as the crew of Air Force One, who all sent a collective letter of thanks for getting them all down to the ground safely). There were also several expressions of relief, well wishes, or congratulations for surviving the attack, from random people – strangers – who were all simply relieved and glad to know that he was alive. There was even a rather amusing one made up almost entirely of movie quotes, ending with the ‘Never give up, never surrender’ one that Tony actually felt was very appropriate, despite its cheesiness.

Tony was no stranger to receiving thanks or praise from fans, especially after he became Iron Man. Not to mention the various awards and ceremonies that were done in his honor for one reason or another. But something about these letters, many of them handwritten, just seemed more special, each one sending a bubble of warmth spreading through him until it filled him up, making it easy to forget the ache in his chest from the missing arc reactor, the panic that still rose up occasionally from any mention of the New York Battle or portals.

The ones from kids like David were the best, many of them spreading an ear-to-ear grin across his face as he read them. And it wasn’t just individual letters or drawings, either, the tube-shaped packages revealing posters drawn up by entire classrooms, signed by all of the students (given the size and number of some, the entire school had gotten in on those ones). 

Oh yeah, he was definitely going to try and find some kind of wall space for some of these. They would serve as a nice reminder that he has done good if he ever needed one. That he hasn’t wasted the life that Yinsen gave for him.

He sat there for much longer than the 10 minutes he’d promised earlier, just basking in that warm glow as he read each of the letters carefully.

End

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little side-note/fic-rec;
> 
> http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9319232/1/He-Can-t-Be-Dead
> 
> He Can't Be Dead by AngelShep was sort of the head canon I had when I wrote this in regards to the other Avengers. It's a good story if you want to read something of how they reacted when they saw that news of the attack and later when they saw Tony again, so I recommend checking it out if you haven't already.


End file.
